Table 8.1 - The main characteristics of 30 European landscapes
Source: J Meeus
Landscape type | Landform | Vegetation | Character | Trends | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
  | Tundras | ||||
1 | Arctic tundra | Lowlands covered by ice and snow | Permafrost keeps vegetation scattered and low: moss/lichen | Desolate treeless wilderness | Wetland preservation |
2 | Forest tundra | Hills and lowlands bogs and fens | Dwarf shrubs (birch, alder) cover the valleys: heath everywhere | Wild, empty scattered forests | Fires and overgrazing |
  | Taigas | ||||
3 | Boreal swamp | Peatland, mires, bogs and fens | Mixed, thin forests without production, only preservation | Inaccessible uncultivated wetlands | Drainage, extraction of peat |
4 | Northern taiga | Hills and plains, lowlands and lakes | Coniferous forest (pine, spruce) relics of grazed woodlands | Homogeneous forests | Clear felling, spruce becoming dominant |
5 | Middle taiga | Plains with sandy soils, moraines and mires | Mixed coniferous forests and some pastures or fodder crops | Some spaces within forests |   |
6 | Southern taiga | Hills and plains of sand, silt and loamy soils | Mixed coniferous forests; pastures are in the minority | Semi-open forests |   |
7 | Subtaiga | Outwash-plains and plateaus of loam/loess | Mixed broadleaved and coniferous forests and arable land | Silvi- and agricultural domination | Drainage and deforestation |
  | Uplands | ||||
8 | Northern highlands | Hills and mountains, lakes, bogs and fens | Heath, grassland, rocks and relics of overgrazed woods | Desolate, rough and very open | Afforestation |
9 | Mountains | High mountains, glaciers, steep slopes and valleys | Moss, heath, grass and forest on slopes; intensive crops in valleys | Wild, rough, enclosed versus cultivated, open | Abandoning, afforestation and tourism |
  | Bocages | ||||
10 | Atlantic bocage | Gentle slopes and plateaus of loam on rocks | Pastures and arable land surrounded by hedges, walls or trees | Enclosed, heterogeneous and cultivated | Plot enlargement and removing of hedges |
11 | Semi-bocage | Hills and middle mountains, wet conditions | Extensive grassland and crops, mixed forests and hedges | Hybrid openenclosed | Abandoning and afforestation |
12 | Mediterranean semi-bocage | Hills and middle mountains, dry conditions | Extensive grass, arable and permanent crops, walls/forests | Relatively open | Extensification |
  | Openfields | ||||
13 | Atlantic openfields | Loamy and clayey soils on undulating plains | Intensive arable land; trees only in valleys | Large-scale openness; monoculture | Intensification and set-aside |
14 | Continental openfields | Loess and loam on flat and hilly land | Mixed arable, grass and permanent crops; forests on hilltops | Diverse in scale | Diversification |
15 | Aquitaine openfields | Outwash plains and slopes of lime, loam, loess | Arable land on plateaus; forests on slopes; horticulture in valleys | Open and intensively cultivated |   |
16 | Former openfields | Undulating plains with loamy and clayey soils | Land suited for arable crops, used for cereal, root crops, grass | Intensively cultivated; large-scale openness | Removing of trees on plots |
17 | Central collective openfields | Undulating plains with loess and loamy soils | Arable land without any other vegetation; pastures on lowlands | Large-scale, open and homogeneous | Water and wind erosion |
18 | Eastern collective openfields | Flat to undulating plains covered with 'black earth' | Treeless arable land and grass on moist lowlands | Extremely open, large and dry |   |
19 | Mediterranean open land | Hills, plateaus, valleys, water-limited conditions | Forests and scrub v. cultivation: extensive crops and transhumance | Contrasting patterns between hills and valleys | In- and extensification, abandoning |
  | Steppic and arid landscapes | ||||
20 | Puszta | Salt-affected soils on the Hungarian plain | Grassland and arable land | Treeless open space; extensive breeding | Salinisation, water and wind erosion |
21 | Steppe | Plains with brown earth, valleys and saltmarshes | Grassland and arable land, extensively cultivated | Treeless, dry, endless, windy, extremely open | Overgrazing, salinisation |
22 | Semi-desert | Lowland plains and saltmarshes | Grass, ephemeral and halophytic plants | Salt, dry, open and extensively cultivated | Changing levels of groundwater and sea water |
23 | Sandy desert | Mobile dunes, dry rivers and shifting sands | Absence of vegetation, only some ephemeral plants, sedges | Uncultivated | Pastoral husbandry protection |
  | Regional landscapes | ||||
24 | Kampen | Undulating plains with brooks and sandy soils | Mixed crops, grassland; forests, heath, swamps and trees | Enclosed fields, mosaic, small-scale patchwork | Increase of scale and intensification |
25 | Poland's strip fields | Small elongated field systems | Mixed crops, horticulture, orchards and forests | Labour-intensive, small-scale diverse |   |
26 | Coltura promiscua | Fertile valleys; loamy soils, remnants of traditional use | Three layers of permanent crops, cereals, horticulture, fodder crop | Heterogeneous and small-scale diverse | Homogenisation by in/extensification |
27 | Dehesa/montado | Poor, dry and stony soils on erosive, gentle slopes | Open evergreen forest (oak, olive), grazed and cultivated | Agro-silvo-pastoral parkland | Degradation; growth of shrubs |
  | Artificial landscapes | ||||
28 | Polder | Estuaries on North Sea coast below sea level (clay, peat) | Intensive arable and grassland; trees along roads, canals, dikes | Flat, open, fertile, artificial and uniform | Intensification, set-aside |
29 | Delta (artificial forms) | Estuaries in coastal lowlands; deltas of large rivers | Intensive arable, fodder and permanent crops on irrigated fields | Intensive, flat, open, fertile and uniform | Salinisation and intensification |
30 | Huerta | Irrigated, fertile valleys on Mediterranean coast | Intensive horticulture and permanent crops (eg, fruits) | Irrigation, terraces, orchards | Expansion |